New Star of the Shikon
by blueangel3136
Summary: Born into a family of acrobats, Kagome was destined to live out her life on the stage. But one night, one accident, and one person changes everything.


New Star of the Shikon

Prologue

Anxiety griped her chest, her heart fluttering frantically and her lungs  
constricted. Never before tonight had she'd felt such a feeling of  
nervousness. It was almost as if she was afraid of dying out there. Which   
wouldn't be considered cowardly by many. After all, how many had already  
died or injured themselves during this specific act? The count was said to  
be staggering. But when she heard a soft laugh behind her, the anxiety  
lessened. A little.

"Chickening out yet Kagome?" Looking up, she saw her elder sibling. His  
outfit was already sparkling even in the dim light. His hair, which had   
always been unruly, was now spiked and the tips dyed a deep royal blue to  
match his costume. Altogether, Souta was quite the sight.

"No! I'm just…" Souta sighed and placed his hand on her shoulder gently.

"Nervous, I know. I was too actually." Kagome gasped quietly and her eyes  
widened in utter shock.

"That's impossible! You and the trapeze are like one! You flow through the  
air like you were born doing it!" At this, Souta chuckled.

"I guess dad never mentioned the days when I was still in training, did he?  
Cause the truth is that I was so horrible at acrobatics that many were  
afraid I'd never continue the legacy." Again, Kagome gasped.

"But how could you have so much trouble? I only had trouble the few first  
times!" Souta smiled knowingly.

"So I heard. But you're an exception Kagome. You're special. My bet is that  
you'll soon enough surpass me and be the one to continue on with…" But a   
deep masculine voice cut Souta off.

"Come now you two, get yourselves ready." The two siblings looked to their  
right to see their father, already his own costume of pristine white. The   
costume's design was enough to make people stare, but with the silver  
accents everywhere it was probably one of the most gorgeous costumes Kagome  
had ever seen. Yet, the costume could not be compared to her father.

Like most performers, he was very lean but toned. He was tall as well,  
extremely tall. It was because of his height that her grandfather had been  
apprehensive to allow his son on the trapeze bars. But in the end, his fears  
were put to rest. Higurashi Taiyou became the greatest performer of all time  
in many eyes, dazzling millions of people with even his simplest maneuvers.  
Sometimes, like now, Kagome found her father to be rather intimidating. Her  
small hands began to grip the sheer fabric of her dress. As a small thought,  
she realized her costume was rather stunning tonight as well.

The bodice was tight, but movable for her acrobatics as well, and was the  
same royal blue as Souta's regal costume. The skirt of the gown was made up  
of several layers of sheer fabric in varying shades of blue that sparkled  
with glitter whenever she moved. In that moment, she thanked the Kami that  
the costume maker had remembered to put a small pair of blue shorts at the  
end of the bodice. She didn't think she could take anything smaller, far too   
uncomfortable.

"Kagome, what did your mother say about fiddling with your costume?" Kagome  
jumped but removed her hands from her gown, seeing the woman in question  
coming up alongside her father.

"Now Taiyou, it's Kagome's first time actually being on stage other than the  
occasional fill-in for a sick clown. You can clearly see why she's fiddling  
with her dress." Her mother, a beauty like no other Kagome had ever seen,  
was from another family of acrobats. But like her mother before her, Yuki  
doubled as the stage's personal singer. She was said to have a voice given  
to her directly from the Kami, and Kagome believed it. But sometimes, again  
like now, Kagome would look at the members of her family in awe. Her parents  
in the pristine white costumes of a king and queen, her brother in his royal   
blue knight's costume, and she was stunned. How was she related to them? She  
held none of her mother's gentle, almost naturally aristocratic looks, she  
couldn't sing very well, and she never had the confidence they did.

Had she'd been adopted?

No, that couldn't be it. For there were some things that made her a   
Higurashi undeniably. Like her sapphire blue eyes, her long onyx colored  
hair that tended to have a blue shine to it in the sun, and her build. For  
all Higurashi's as far back as anyone could remember had always been taller  
than average, even the woman, and had always been naturally lean.

"Kagome, come stand next to your mother." Her father's voice was a whisper  
now, and Kagome felt her anxiety light up once more as she heard the  
tinkling sounds of the house orchestra beginning the score for their   
performance. But as she came up alongside her mother, something happened.

A stunning calm settled over her as she began to run the act through her  
head. First, her mother would walk out from behind the sparkling curtain and  
sing a touching ballad before it faded into just the orchestra playing a  
very loud piece for a battle scene. Yuki would remain where she was until  
nearly the end of the scene, looking terrified, before her father would come   
out and unsheathe his sword.

It was strange how she remembered it all so well. She'd always had a bad  
habit of forgetting things, especially act, but now it was as if she were a   
robot running on a program.

"Ladies and gentlemen! The show you've been waiting to see is almost ready  
to begin!" She could hear the boss talking over the long, mystical intro to  
her mother's song, and she could tell he was particularly excited about this  
production.

'Myoga-san always gets excited before…'

"But before the show begins, I want to make an announcement! For the first  
time ever, the youngest Higurashi will be joining her family on stage! At  
the age of twelve, Kagome shows a lot of potential so be sure to keep your  
eye on her!" A small flutter of anxiety erupted in her stomach again at his  
words, but not enough to break her calm.

'Myoga-san really overdoes it a lot of the time.' But she forced herself to  
become quiet as her mother flowed out onto the stage, the microphone  
attached to her dress turning on as she did so, and then it came, the first   
unwavering note that rang out across the stage, silencing the audience with  
almost magical ease.

'Mother's always been able to silence the crowds with her voice alone. I  
only wish that I could do that one day.' As though reading her thoughts, she   
felt her father's hand upon her shoulder and when she looked up at him, she  
saw his smile. A moment later, Souta leaned over and smiled from the other  
side of Taiyou. Although she had to admit, Souta looked like a complete goof  
when he smiled like that.

'Father has a smile that makes women the audience nearly fall out of the  
chairs. Well, at least that's what mother says. But Souta has a smile that  
makes me want to giggle.' She almost did too as they stood there, but she  
knew better and reigned her mirth. Her skin tingled as her mother reached  
the climax of the song, and when she looked out from behind the curtain   
through a small crack, she could see her mother's face alight with emotion  
as she held out the last note, so high and yet so beautiful that Kagome felt  
her eyes tear up.

'Now father will go out…' As if on cue with his daughter's mind, Taiyou   
readied himself as the sound of pounding drums, blasting brass, and the  
numerous footsteps of the "soldiers" echoed out across the stage. Then, as  
Kagome saw several silhouettes leap out towards her mother on the other side  
of stage, Taiyou leapt from backstage and drew his sword, fending of the  
acrobat soldiers.  
'Father has always been the hero, even in the tragedies.' Then, a loud  
tympani roll signaled Souta and he too ran out and drew his sword, coming to  
their father's "aid" as the crowd erupted into cheers. Even from where she  
stood, she could tell Souta was glowing.

'Souta, always such a ladies man. At least, that's what he thinks.' By now,  
the stage was full and silhouettes of performers were running across the  
curtain from everywhere. Then, the choreography changed and instead of   
coming at Souta and Taiyou one at a time, the rest of the performers  
suddenly turned and lunged as one.

Had she'd been in the audience, she would have been on the edge of her seat.

'Suspense will always stir a rise from the audience.' She heard two clangs  
against many, and squinted as one of the perfectly placed stage lights lit  
up. As she heard the audience gasp, performers came backstage still wearing  
their soldier uniforms. Some simply walked by her, but most stopped and  
place a hand on her shoulder or gave her smiles and winks as they passed.   
Again, she felt a twinge of anxiety as the stage lights dimmed.

'The lights will dim and mother shall call for me.'

"Where is Kaori?"

"Kaori!" Upon hearing her "name" Kagome inhaled a deep breath and then  
sprinted out onto stage, hearing the immediate whispers of the audience as  
she did so. A rush of adrenaline almost made her dizzy as it rushed through  
her veins. Was this what her family felt when they were on the stage? This  
euphoria she was experiencing?

Yes, she was twelve and she knew words like euphoria.

She looked at her mother and smiled, received a smile back, and then heard a  
flute trill that served as their signal as well as an entrance to the next   
scene.

'And now the bars will drop from their holdings and down to our reach.' And  
they did, a bar for each member of the family. Souta went first, grabbing  
his bar and swinging from the platform they were on. Since their family was  
known for their specific spiral techniques, each bar was made to spin. Souta  
swung in a wide arc, turning left and flying over the crowd, making many   
female gasps echo in the air. Her father went next, getting the same  
reaction, if not a little more intense from the crowd.

Then her mother flew out after giving her youngest a small smile, her gown   
flowing out in all its glory behind her. She looked like a wingless angel  
flying out to meet her destiny, however corny that may have sounded even in  
Kagome's mind. But she couldn't help but stare in awe until her cue came and  
she grasped the cool bar in her hands and leapt from the platform,  
surprisingly earning loud round of applause as she did so. She felt as  
though she was dead and in heaven, in complete bliss.

'Remember to make eye contact with the audience.' She looked below her and  
smiled, her eyes latching on two faces in particular.

They were two young boys, brothers, and one was clearly older than the other  
was. Both had long silver hair, which seemed quite odd to her, but she   
smiled on. The younger of the two was actually jumping in his sitting and  
laughing, his eyes wide and bright. But the second looked bored. Completely  
bored.

'Well, I'll just have to change that.' Having seen Souta do this already  
three times in the last few minutes, Kagome smiled brighter and swung her  
body to her left, going into a tight spiral. She could hear several gasps   
and squeals as she did this, and when she finally stopped, just as she was  
actually swinging over the two brothers, she saw the younger one practically  
dancing.

But what satisfied her the most, was the older brother.

He hadn't moved, his arms still crossed over his chest, but his face was  
what made her giggle as she passed over them as if in slowed time. His eyes  
were widened just enough for her to see, and his mouth that had been pressed  
in a thin line was now ajar in a silent gasp.

'That'll show him!' Then, just as she passed them, she did a small flip over   
the bar and kept going. Time sped up to normal once more, and she smiled  
brightly as she followed behind her mother who was now doing a spiral like  
she had, only more complex.

That's when she heard it. A scream.

A truly horrified scream. At first, it was just one. Then, it seemed to  
spread as one by one, screams begun to erupt in the audience. Kagome felt  
the smile slip from her face as she looked towards her family. Souta was   
looking at his mother, who in turn was looking at their father. Kagome  
looked at him as well, and saw that he was looking up to the bar anchoring.

Then, he fell.

Kagome wanted to scream as she watched it, but found she couldn't. The ropes  
of her father's bar seemed to snap from somewhere up towards the top, and  
they simply plummeted, a loud yell from her father ringing out across the  
stage. As if in slow motion his face alighted in true fear and fell towards  
the floor. It was then she realized why so many people became injured or  
worse doing this particular act. The nets, which were usually beneath them  
during an entire performance, were removed for this particular one. Because  
even though several people had died during this show, those in charge still  
said it was far too easy of a show to bring out the nets, which took several  
hours to do.

Kagome made herself look to her mother before her father was anywhere near  
the ground.

'This has to be a nightmare!' She closed her eyes tightly as if to will away  
the frightening dream she was in, but they were quickly snapped back open  
when she heard a loud snap from in front of her, Her mother was no holding  
onto the trapeze bar as it hung from only side. As if sensing her daughter's  
eyes on her, Yuki turned and looked into the eyes of her daughter sadly.

Then, her last restraint of safety snapped as well.

'Daddy…mommy…please let this be a dream!' But even as she thought that and  
looked towards her brother across from her, she knew it wasn't.

Now it was just the two of them in the bars, the rest of the performers  
safely on the ground and the audience was half gone and half frozen in their  
seats. Distantly she noticed that the older of the two silver-haired   
brothers was still in the audience only standing as he watched her.

"Kagome! Jump to the audience balcony!" She gasped as she turned to her  
brother.

"Souta!"

"Do it! Leap to the balcony!" Kagome's eyes widened drastically. She   
couldn't do that! He knew she was horrible at leaping up! Going far wasn't a  
problem, but the height…

"I can't do it!"

"Yes you can! Now leap!" Kagome finally did scream when he finished. Both of  
his lines snapped just like their father's had, and he went plummeting  
towards the ground. Again, she looked away. Frantic, she looked around for  
help in the audience. But by now there was practically no one, including the   
silver haired boy, and for the first time she noticed that a fire had begun.

'I have no choice! I'll have to jump!' Looking up, she saw the balcony that  
circled the stage. It was almost eight feet up, no problem for Soot or her  
parents. But for her, it was nearly impossible.

As if commanded to, her body began to swing back and forth, building up  
momentum, as she simply became blank. Her parents were gone. Souta was gone.  
Now, the fire growing steadily beneath her would be taking away her home as  
well. Why should she jump to safety? Why hadn't her family jumped as well?  
But all questions were forced from her mind as she flew forward once more.

'If I don't make the jump…' She didn't finish that thought. Instead, she let  
out a cry as she flung her body up and out. Her whole body was perfectly   
positioned for the jump, her hands outstretched and reaching for the balcony  
she would never reach. Behind her, she heard her own trapeze bar smash  
against the ground. The balcony's edge loomed nearer and she stretched out  
her arm further, her expression desperate. But just as the fingers of her  
right hand were about the graze the edge, she felt her body beginning to  
fall.

'I knew I wouldn't make it.' She let out a sob as she began to fall, her  
fingertips actually grazing the cold material of the edge. She expected the  
feeling of failure, she expected the fear of the fall, but what she didn't  
expect was the pale hand that reached out and grabbed her wrist in a strong  
grip.

"Hang on!" Looking up as her body hit the side, she gasped. The person who'd   
saved her, the person who was now grabbing her left hand in his own, was  
none other than the silver-haired boy she'd thought had left like everyone  
else. He was breathing heavily, as if he'd been running, and in the back of  
her mind, she realized he'd run all the way up the stairs that led to the  
balcony.

But why?

"I need you help me! Put your feet on the side and try to walk!" She nodded  
and did as she was told, feeling him pulling her up as she did so. Behind  
her, something on the set crashed loudly and she let out a frightened  
shriek, almost losing her footing as she tried to curl in on herself.

'Souta, I'm scared!'

"Don't be scared! We'll get out of here! Together!" Kagome's head snapped up  
and she looked into the boy's eyes. They were such strangely colored eyes,  
looking like deep pools of liquid gold. They showed his concern, his  
desperation to help her, shining in his eyes even if his face only showed  
his effort as he continued to pull her up. But she snapped out of it and   
nodded before beginning to walk up the side of the balcony once more.

'One foot in front of the other. Right, then left. Then I'll be safe.' For  
those few moments, her family was pushed from her mind. The burning building  
was gone as well. What was left was her and the boy she'd showed off for  
earlier in the show.

"You can do it!" There were only a few steps left, but Kagome felt another  
surge of adrenaline in her veins and simply shoved herself up. It was just  
enough to make it so the young boy could catch her around the waist and pull  
her back. "See! I told you!"

"Yeah…" She looked up at him then, seeing a sort of delirious happiness in  
his eyes when he realized she was safe. Safe, something her family wouldn't  
know again. It was then, as a strange boy held her as her world burned down  
around her, did Kagome finally cry. It started with a small sob, but that  
opened the door and she ended up burying her face in his shirt and crying  
for all she was worth. She felt him tense for a moment, but then he hugged  
her tightly and let her cry, putting his chin on top of her head. She  
realized then that he was several years older than she was, assuredly in his  
late teens, and this would probably be the last time she saw her savior.   
After all, he'd soon be off home, wherever that was, and she'd…she didn't  
know that part.

"Come on, we gotta get out of here before the fire spreads anymore than it   
already has." She nodded and was about to pull away when he simply bent down  
and lifted her into his arms bridal style. "Hang on! I'm probably not as  
good as you but I can at least get us out of here a lot faster than someone  
else!"

She wasn't sure what he meant, but she wrapped her arms around his neck   
securely just before he simply took off at a sprint towards the stairwell.  
But instead of going down the stairs, the boy looked up, seeing a window  
about a hundred feet above them, opened for ventilation of the stairwell.  
But as they stood there for a short time, Kagome realized something odd. The  
window, which was usually only opened halfway and could only open halfway,  
was completely open with no glass in sight.

But barely finished that thought before the boy simply crouched low and  
tightened his grip on her, smiling down at for a moment and then springing  
into the air. Had she'd not been in such a state of shock, Kagome would have  
screamed. For not only was he able to jump high, he jumped with speed like  
she'd only seen from her parents.

They flew through the window with ease, neither of them touching the frame   
at all, and gasped inwardly when she saw how much higher they'd gotten. For  
the boy had jumped at least nearly sixty feet higher than the roof itself.

"Wow…"

"I'm still only in training, not nearly as good as you!" Kagome looked at  
him in shock, their faces barely inches apart.

"Maybe on the bars! But you saw how pathetic I am at jumping! Souta could've   
made that…" But she cut herself off with a strangled gasp, the weight of her  
family's fate sudden hitting her again. He seemed to know why she stopped  
because as he landed smoothly, with almost fluid ease, he held her closer.

"If we see each other again, we'll teach each other what we know. Deal?"  
Kagome smiled through her sadness and nodded as he begun to run towards the   
edge of the roof.

"Deal."

She thought she heard him laugh along with her as he jumped from the  
building, headed for a large merchandise tent below them. On that night,  
Higurashi Kagome lost her family. But in turn, she gained a friend who would   
aid her more than he'd ever know in the coming years.


End file.
